Sir Everard Fawkener (1694–1758) was an English merchant and

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, chiefly remembered for his friendship with Voltaire. His daughter was the celebrated political hostess Harriet Bouverie.

Career

Fawkener was born into a family of silk merchants. His father, William (1642–1716) was a leading member of the

Levant Company The Levant Company was an English chartered company formed in 1592. Elizabeth I of England approved its initial charter on 11 September 1592 when the Venice Company (1583) and the Turkey Company (1581) merged, because their charters had expired, ...

. Everard was sent out to

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

(a city presently located in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

) in 1716 and remained there until 1725. He then worked in the family firm of Snelling and Fawkener, leading Levant merchants of their day until 1735.Haydn Mason, ‘Fawkener, Sir Everard (1694–1758)’, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008

accessed 8 Aug 2008 He met the philosopher

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

in Paris, on his way home from Aleppo in 1725. Voltaire dedicated his tragedy ''Zaïre'' to Fawkener in 1733, and earlier stayed in Fawkener's house in

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

during his lengthy stay in England in 1726. The two men kept up a warm and affectionate correspondence for many years. In November 1748 Voltaire wrote to Fawkener "Now you are a husband and a father and I hope a happy one". Fawkener was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1735, being appointed as

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

on 19 August 1735. He arrived at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

on 19 December. He did not like it much there and got leave to return home on 8 November 1742. His credentials were finally recalled on 4 September 1746. Upon his return, he became secretary to the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British royal family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedom w ...

, a post which he held for the rest of his life. He was an eyewitness to the

Battle of Fontenoy The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...

. He accompanied the Duke on his campaign in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

to suppress the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745 was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took place during the War of the Austrian Succession, when the bulk of t ...

. In 1745 he became Postmaster General. In this period he was a financial backer in the foundation of the Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory.

Family

Fawkener did not marry until 1747, when aged 53. His wife was Harriet, the natural daughter of Lieutenant General Charles Churchill. A portrait of her by

-based artist

Jean-Étienne Liotard Jean-Étienne Liotard () or Giovanni Stefano Liotard (22 December 1702 – 12 June 1789) was a Genevan painter, pastellist, printmaker, art theorist and art dealer. Born in the Republic of Geneva as the son of exiled French Huguenots, he spent mo ...

hangs in

Compton Verney House Compton Verney House () is an 18th-century country mansion at Compton Verney near Kineton in Warwickshire, England. It is located on the west side of a lake north of the B4086 road, B4086 about north-west of Banbury. Today, it is the site of th ...

. They had a daughter, also named Harriet, who married Edward Bouverie and became the noted society hostess Mrs. Bouverie, and two sons, William Augustus FawkenerWilliam Augustus Fawkener (c.1750-1811)
/ref> and Everard Fawkener of the 11th dragoons. Fawkener lived at Westhorpe House near

Little Marlow Little Marlow is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. History The Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist lies at the heart of the village, not far from the river and next to th ...

Career

Family

References

Further reading